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Jack Elam

Jack Elam

Birthday: 1920-11-13 | Place of Birth: Miami, Gila, Arizona, USA

Colorful American character actor equally adept at vicious killers or grizzled sidekicks. As a child he worked in the cotton fields. He attended Santa Monica Junior College in California and subsequently became an accountant and, at one time, manager of the Bel Air Hotel. Elam got his first movie job by trading his accounting services for a role. In short time he became one of the most memorable supporting players in Hollywood, thanks not only to his near-demented screen persona but also to an out-of-kilter left eye, sightless from a childhood fight. He appeared with great aplomb in Westerns and gangster films alike, and in later years played to wonderful effect in comedic roles.

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Known For

Acting

Year
Title

Role

1995
Bonanza: Under Attack

as    Buckshot

1991
Suburban Commando

as    Col. Dustin 'Dusty' McHowell

1990
The Giant of Thunder Mountain

as    Hezekiah Crow

1990
Big Bad John

as    Jake Calhoun

1988
1986
The Aurora Encounter

as    Charlie

1986
1984
1983
Sacred Ground

as    Lum Witcher

1981
The Cannonball Run

as    Doctor

1979
The Villain

as    Avery Simpson

1979
1979
The Sacketts

as    Ira Bigelow

1979
The Sacketts

as    Ira Bigelow

1978
The Norseman

as    Death Dreamer

1978
Hot Lead & Cold Feet

as    Rattlesnake

1976
Hawmps!

as    Bad Jack Cutter

1976
Pony Express Rider

as    Crazy Charlie

1976
The Winds of Autumn

as    J. Pete Hankins

1976
Creature from Black Lake

as    Joe Canton

1974
A Knife for the Ladies

as    Jarrod (Sheriff)

1973
The Red Pony

as    Granddad

1972
The Daughters of Joshua Cabe

as    Bitterroot

1972
Hannie Caulder

as    Frank Clemens

1971
Support Your Local Gunfighter

as    Jug May

1970
Dirty Dingus Magee

as    John Wesley Hardin

1970
Rio Lobo

as    Phillips